Cisco shares plunge on weak outlook

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shares of Cisco Systems tumbled after the networking giant released a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter.

Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) stock fell nearly 7% in premarket trading Thursday, after executives said on a post-earnings conference call late Wednesday that the company expects sales to grow only 2-5% in its fiscal fourth quarter.

Investors seized on the downbeat outlook, punishing the stock and brushing off a solid earnings report for the current quarter.

Cisco's earnings rose 20% over the year to $2.6 billion, or 48 cents per share, excluding one-time charges for the quarter that ended April 31. The company logged $11.6 billion in sales. That was almost exactly in line with what analysts had expected.